


Too Long Delayed

by salesman



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 02:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5187914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salesman/pseuds/salesman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Working late with Solas one night, Ellana has trouble focusing on her research. Solas figures out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Long Delayed

It was late into the night. Most of Skyhold had retired to sleep, and the usual thrumming bustle of people had quieted hours ago. Solas turned a page of a book, thumb grazing over a diagram from ancient times. He hummed. A soft noise that caught her attention, and Ellana raised an eyebrow at him.

Solas sensed her gaze and looked up. A small smile appeared on his lips as he said, “An explanation of astrariums. Nothing of consequence, unfortunately.”

Ellana nodded and returned her attention to the tome in her lap.

They were seated in her quarters. Two chairs angled towards each other, with her desk piled high with various research before them. She frequently requested his company when pouring over new discoveries. Something about the logical way Solas scrutinized information helped her think. He always asked the right questions that would lead to better answers.

Reading through her book’s dull words, Ellana’s head began to droop with exhaustion from the long day. Introductions, discussions, and countless decisions that she made without even pausing to consider them. She loathed being Inquisitor.

But Solas helped somehow. He made her duties easier by advising her with steady words or calming her with intriguing stories. She felt grateful to have him a part of her team.

Ellana blinked away her fatigue and focused on the book again. It was about the Temple of Pride, and she wondered if Solas could help her translate some of the ancient Elvhen she was so poor at learning.

“Solas, would you—?”

She froze when she looked up. He had already been watching her, eyes focused intently on her face. Ellana bit her lip in an attempt to calm herself, but the burning blush rising in her cheeks was not helping. Ellana squinted again at her tome. “Can you help me translate this?” She pointed to a line of symbols.

“If I am able,” he said, voice so low and gravelly, it vibrated down her spine like a shiver.

Solas leaned towards her, and she felt his warmth radiate off the faint brushing of his shoulder. He proceeded to read the text, and one of his fingers rose to the page, tracing over the old glyphs. Ellana followed every movement of that finger, admiring its litheness and elegance. How was everything about him so graceful?

“I can translate a portion of this text,” he murmured, stirring her to reality once more. Solas turned his gaze to her, now much closer as he explained what he knew of the Elvhen words. Time seemed to slow while he spoke, and Ellana watched his lips with fascination as they curved to form each word. His voice was like a melody in itself.

Her eyes wandered along his skin. She admired his strong features. How his cheekbones and jawline were so sharp, they looked sculpted from stone. And his eyes.

His eyes always carried something else behind them. Some secret knowledge, an unknown feeling. Solas understood the world like no one else, and it fascinated her to hear him speak his thoughts or stories. Ellana always hungered for more.

“Inquisitor?”

Her attention snapped up to catch Solas’s expression shifting to amusement. Ellana had not listened to one bit of his translation, and she felt her face warm with embarrassment. She busied her eyes with the details of a tapestry on the other side of the room, hoping to gain her wits again. Lately, this had been happening quite a lot. Solas would fluster her with the tiniest things: a smile, a laugh, a quiet comment. She found her heart racing much faster than it should, and it was alarming and exciting all at once.

“Ellana?” Solas asked this time. Her name rolled off his tongue like rich velvet, and she saw him edge closer with concern, thrilling her heart into a frenzy.

She swallowed, now aware of the hazardous proximity he was to her. So close. His eyes were dark from the shadows of firelight, but possibly from something else. Another one of those secrets she could never puzzle out.

“It’s late,” she replied quietly, keeping her voice as level as she could. Ellana bit her lip with how absurdly nervous she felt, and the movement invited his own eyes down to her mouth.

“It is,” Solas agreed, fixing his gaze a moment longer on her lips before meeting her eyes again. His chest rose and fell with heavy, slow breaths as he studied her with silent intensity. That  _stare_.

“We should go to bed,” Ellana suggested.

Solas leaned closer, a mere breath away, and arched a brow at her words. A smile grew on his mouth, creasing his eyes with amused delight as he tilted his head curiously at her.

Ellana felt petrified. Her breath hitched in her chest, and her eyes raced around his face in a failed attempt to read him. What was he thinking? The moment seemed suspended in time, slowed with each worrying thought that passed through her mind. What had she  _said_?

“I agree,” he whispered, so close that she could feel his breath caress her skin.

They stared at each other for what felt like years, until finally Solas closed his eyes and drew her towards him in a gentle kiss.

It had been so long since someone had touched her with affection. Everyone kept their distance from the Inquisitor, and living in Skyhold had only felt isolating. This was more than unexpected, it was like a dream, and shared with the one person she truly cared for. 

His mouth was warm and tender, offering everything but demanding nothing. Her hands moved to his jaw and tugged him closer, and his own arms wrapped her tightly to him. She sighed into him and grasped at his tunic, wanting anything,  _everything_  all at once.

How long had he felt the same way she did? This polite apostate, who always seemed detached and reserved, was now so ardent with his kiss, and his lips moved with such avid decision, as if this touch had long been contemplated. Like years of yearning were whispered in it, and she revelled in his eagerness and found herself embracing it with equal passion.

Eventually, they broke apart, gasping heavily with timid smiles. “That was...” Ellana started, unsure of how to finish.

“Too long delayed.” Solas grinned, and pulled her in for another.

**Author's Note:**

> This is another Tumblr oneshot. Just posting them all lately, heh!
> 
> Also, I don't really know if the summary fits, but ohhhh well, hahaha.


End file.
